Psalms 131+132

Psalm 131

We’ve been working our way through the psalms on Wednesday evenings and recently we’ve been studying the Songs of Ascents which run from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. We believe these Songs of Ascents were written for God’s people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals. Or perhaps some of them were written for God’s people when they were returning from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem. Most of them are quite short. And so, we’ve been taking the last several ones two at a time. And this evening, we’re going to spend a few minutes on Psalms 131 and 132.

One of the commentators (Hamilton) says that in Psalm 131 David tells us what he did not do; then he tells us what he did do; and then he tells us what God’s people should do. So, what he did not do; what he did do; and what we should do.

What did David not do? He did not lift up his heart and he did not raise up his eyes too high. That’s a more literal translation of verse 1, which the NIV has paraphrased for us. But the NIV’s paraphrase brings out the meaning, because the person who lifts up his heart and eyes is a proud person. In his heart, he thinks too highly of himself. With his eyes, he looks down on those he thinks are below him. But David has not lifted up his heart and eyes with pride and contempt.

Nor does he concern himself with great matters or things that are too wonderful for him. When he refers to great and wonderful things, he’s perhaps referring to the things God does. After all, the Bible tells us that all of God’s works are wonderful. They are marvellous. And so, David is saying that he’s not trying to be like God. The serpent told Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit she would become like God. But David knows his place: he is not God. Instead he is God’s humble servant.

So, David did not lift up his heart and become proud. And so, what did he do? He made his own soul still and calm and quiet. And he uses the images of a weaned child with its mother. Now, a child who is weaned is not always calm. And so, it’s likely that what David has in mind is not so much a child who has been weaned off milk and is now eating solid food, but a child who has been fed and is now sleeping. When she was hungry, she cried. But now that she has been fed, she sleeps quietly. And David says his soul is like that: he’s become calm and content and comfortable.

And it’s interesting the way David has put these two things side-by-side: humility and contentment. The proud person is restless, because he’s always trying to make clear how he’s better than everyone else. He has to work hard to prove his worth. But the humble person is content, because she doesn’t have to prove anything. She’s content with her lot and with her calling from God. Instead of being anxious, she’s relaxed. Think again of the baby who has been fed and is satisfied. And so, she falls asleep in her mother’s arm. The humble person rests contentedly in the arms of the Lord.

And so, David has not lifted up his heart because of pride. Instead he has contented himself in the Lord. And finally he calls on God’s people to put their hope in God both now and forevermore. In other words, we’re to trust in the Lord and wait for him.

Think of David himself. Samuel revealed to him that he would one day become king over God’s people. And instead of lifting up his heart and becoming proud, he humbly waited on the Lord and on the Lord’s timing. Instead of exalting himself and killing Saul, he waited for the Lord to make him king. And when the time was right, the Lord did what he said he would do and David became king over God’s people.

Or think of the Lord Jesus. Instead of lifting up his heart and becoming proud, he humbly waited on God the Father to exalt him to the highest place. In fact, he humbled himself and became obedient to his Father, even to the point of dying on the cross for us and for our salvation. And in the end, his Father raised him from the dead and exalted him to the highest place as king over all.

And we’re to follow his example. And so, instead of lifting up our hearts and becoming proud, instead of exalting ourselves over one another and looking down on everyone else, we’re to love and serve the people around us, because this is our Father’s will for us. And that should be enough for us. And we should put our hope in him, trusting him to do whatever is right in our life. And in the end, because of Christ our Saviour, who died and was raised for us, we too will be raised from the dead and we’ll be exalted to heaven where we will rule with Christ for ever.

Psalm 132

Let’s turn now to Psalm 132 which can be divided into two main parts: verses 1 to 10 and verses 11 to 18. The first part contains an appeal to the Lord in connection with David. The second part contains God’s promise to David.

And so, in verse 1 the psalmist appeals to the Lord to remember David and all the hardships he endured. He doesn’t specify which hardships, but we know from 1 and 2 Samuel that David’s life was full of hardships, because he had to wait patiently to become king and for a time Saul tried to kill him and he had to flee for his life and hide among the Philistines for a time. And even when he became king, he had to fight many battles to cleanse the land of the pagans who were living there at that time. And he faced other trials in his life. David’s life was full of hardships and afflictions. But he was prepared to endure it all because of his commitment to the Lord his God who had appointed him king over his people.

And then the psalmist recalls how David swore an oath to the Lord to build a dwelling-place for the Lord in Jerusalem. And according to the psalm, David was willing to make this his priority in life. And so, he said that will not enter his own house or go to bed or sleep until he finds a place for the Lord. Finding a suitable resting place for the Lord was to come first. David swore to it.

And while David was not allowed to build the temple, he did find a suitable place for the Lord, because he conquered Jerusalem and arranged for the ark of the covenant to be brought there. The ark of the covenant signified God’s presence with his people in those days. And the psalmist is referring to the ark of the covenant in verses 6 to 10 where he says that the people in Ephrathah (which was another name for Bethlehem) came upon it (the ark of the covenant) in the fields of Jaar. Jaar which was another name for Kiriath-Jearim, which was where the ark was being kept at that time.

So, David sent people to Kiriath-Jearim to fetch the ark and to bring it to Jerusalem which was to be God’s dwelling-place among his people in those days. And as the people lifted the ark to move it to Jerusalem, they called on the Lord to arise and to come to his resting place. And they called on the Lord to let his priests be clothed with righteousness and to let his saints (his people) sing for joy. The people will sing for joy when God accepts the sacrifices which the priests offer on their behalf for the forgiveness of their sins and for peace with God.

And then this part of the psalm ends with the psalmist asking the Lord not to reject his anointed one. When he refers to the anointed one, he means the king. But he’s not referring to King David, but to one of David’s descendants. So, in the first part of the psalm, the psalmist is recalling some of the things David did for the Lord. And he then asks the Lord not to reject David’s descendant who is also a king.

And he asks the Lord not to reject the new king ‘for the sake of David’. And what he means by ‘for the sake of David’ becomes clear in the second part of the psalm, where the psalmist recalls the promise God made to David. So, the Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that cannot be revoked or taken back or changed that the Lord will place one of David’s descendants on David’s throne. And if David’s descendants keep God’s covenant and the statutes and laws which the Lord teaches them to keep, then they shall sit on David’s throne for ever.

And the psalmist then says in verse 13 that the Lord has chosen Zion, the mountain on which Jerusalem was built. He chose it as his dwelling-place for ever. And the Lord will bless Jerusalem with abundant provisions and he will satisfy the poor with food. He will clothe the priests with salvation and the people will sing for joy for ever. And there in Jerusalem, the Lord will make a horn grow up for David. When he refers to a horn, he means a king. And he’ll set up a lamp for God’s anointed one. He’s again referring to the king. The king’s enemies will be covered in the shame of defeat, but the crown on the king’s head will be resplendent. It will be glorious.

So, what’s going on in this psalm? This is perhaps one of the Songs of Ascent for the returning exiles, who were trusting the Lord to keep his promise to David to raise up a new king to rule over them. Now that they have returned from exile, they wanted God to raise up another king to lead them as David once did. And they hoped that Jerusalem and the temple would be restored to the way it once was and that the worship of the Lord will be re-established in the land, with priests to offer sacrifices to the Lord for their forgiveness. And they hoped that God will bless them so that the city would be filled once again with joyful and thankful people who have everything they need; and that God will dwell in their midst.

And so, the returned exiles prayed for these things and they prayed especially for a new king who would rule over them on God’s behalf. And the psalm and their prayers have been fulfilled when God sent his only Begotten Son into the world as his Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. As to his human nature, he was descended from David. And he is the horn and the anointed one, whom God has raised up for us. And he came into the world to give up his life on the cross in obedience to his Father in order make peace for us with God by conquering on our behalf sin and satan and death. And after he was raised, he was exalted to heaven to sit enthroned as king over all and to rule over all things for the sake of his people.

And just as God once dwelt in Jerusalem, so he now dwells in the church of Jesus Christ. He dwells in us by his Spirit and he rules over us by his Son. And he blesses us with forgiveness and with one spiritual blessing after another in Christ Jesus. And Christ is not only our king, but he’s also our priest, who offered himself to God as the perfect sacrifice for sins. And because of him, and because of the salvation he has won for us by his death and resurrection, we can sing rejoice and be glad.

And when Christ our king comes again in glory and with power, his enemies — all who did not believe in him — will be covered with the shame of defeat. But the crown on his head will be resplendent. It will be glorious. And we will reign with him and God’s dwelling place with be with us and he will live with us for ever.